Megaproject on cards to train would-be migrant workers

The government plans to establish 100 technical training centres in 55 districts to train foreign-bound workers, to equip them with skills to earn more.

This will significantly boost the country’s inbound remittance.

Sources at the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training said the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry had taken the Tk 8,960 crore project to be fully funded by the government.

However, the Planning Commission’s project evaluation committee noted that since there were no allocated funds for the project in the current financial year, the authorities concerned should implement it gradually.

The committee suggested the establishment of 20 centres at a time instead of all 100 at once. It also suggested the ministry look for foreign funds alongside government sources to complete the project in time. The committee observed that this would lessen dependency on government funds and reduce extra pressure.

Project Director Mir Fakhrul Alam told The Business Post that such projects require the approval of various government committees for implementation.

“Structural work will start only after getting approvals. Once the project gets necessary clearance, we will go for structural development and then provide training to would-be migrant workers,” Fakhrul said.

“The training courses would be finalised after establishing the institutions,” he said, adding that the training programme would be designed based on the demand of the foreign labour market.

BMET sources said the project plans to train people on seven to eight trades. The course length is likely between 90 to 120 days with 360 hours of training sessions.

Timely initiative

Bangladesh traditionally draws most of its remittance from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In the ‘Covid-19 Crisis Through a Migration Lens’ report, the World Bank noted that at least half of the five million Bangladeshi migrant workers in the GCC were less-skilled and, thereby, low paid. 

The average monthly remittance of a Bangladeshi migrant who performs manual work is only $203 compared to $396 for an Indian, $564 for a Filipino, and $533 for a Chinese.

WARBE Development Foundation Chairman Syed Saiful Haque said that Bangladeshi migrant workers earned less because they were less skilled. 

If the megaproject is implemented, it will help ensure better earning, which will mean more remittance for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has been featured in the list of top 50 recipients of remittance inflows globally. The significance of remittances in Bangladesh’s economy stood at 6.5 per cent this year, according to the World Bank’s estimate.

There has been substantial growth in remittance. Although Bangladesh’s remittances rose above the pre–Covid and 2020 levels by almost 6 per cent to reach $23 billion in 2021, a slowdown in growth was distinct, the World Bank noted. 

The slowing growth in remittances in the first nine months of this year already suggests downside risks for the next year, fuelled chiefly by the slow outmigration of return migrants, keeping remittances flat in the year.